vtsnowedin wrote:You can also capture the heat energy from the coolant and exhaust gasses and direct it to another task ,usually heating a building. It was said that a small block V8 gas engine 350 cubic in. displacement puts out enough waste heat to heat five houses.
I doubt it would be 5 modern houses, but for the last couple decades the Antarctic Station uses diesel engines generators for their power grid and all the waste heat is cycled through interior radiators feeding the forced air heating system for the building. In the dark winter months they supplement with direct fuel burning to keep the building warm but my understanding is in the summer months the generators and body heat of the researchers provide the vast bulk of the heating.
The South Pole Power Plant, powered by AN8 Jet Fuel, is buried under the snow in the utility arches. It’s connected to the main station via the utility corridors, and then the “Beer Can” utility lift/stairway. The plant makes both power and heat for the station – power via conventional alternators attached to the giant engines, and heat as waste, extracted from the engines with a heat exchanger, and then pumped to warm the main station via glycol tubes.
https://www.jeffreydonenfeld.com/blog/2 ... wer-plant/